Ziyana Vasaya - actor

Ziyana Vasaya is a professionally trained actor from Vancouver. Her love of the performing arts was inspired by her father but was solidified at the age of six when she joined dance classes. She eventually explored acting which led to the formal study of Theatre and Film at Capilano University.  

Most recently and just prior to the pandemic, Ziyana performed in Vancouver and Winnipeg in the play “A Thousand Splendid Suns” which was nominated for Most Outstanding Production – Large Theatre Play at the Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards. She also co-produced and starred in the short film SPEAK (written and directed by Shaheed Devji, a fellow Vancouver-based Ismaili) about Islamophobia, which debuted at the Ismaili Centre Vancouver. Ziyana later spoke on the topic as a panelist at the Muslim Youth TEDx conference BC. Both she and Shaheed also appeared on CTV Morning Live and the CKNW Lynda Steele Show to discuss the film and issues surrounding Islamophobia.  

Ziyana also saw tremendous success with film festivals including with the short film "SHOWSTOPPER” which received 5 nominations (including Best Actress) at The Scene Festival USA. This short went on to festivals worldwide including Pakistan, India and the UK and ultimately won awards in both Canada and the US. In early 2019, she also worked on the short film “Midnight Curry” with Rizwan Manji (Schitts Creek, Outsourced), which was directed by up-and-coming directors Shayain Lakhani and Devon Solwood.  

On the small screen, Ziyana has been flown out to audition for Mindy Kaling and Louie Lang for “The Mindy Project.” You will be able to catch her soon on ABC’s Big Sky and the upcoming Disney+ series, Turner & Hooch.